Wednesday, April 30, 2008

This frame came out lighter and cleaner than any previous aluminum MTB frame I have built. I wasn't trying to make it really light but 3 1/4 lbs. is stinkin' light. No super light tubes, just Easton Elite, good stout stuff for beating on. Just a few cable guides and a discmount and it will be a done deal.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Friday, April 25, 2008

You won't find a BMW or Mercedes in our garage but we have a pretty fancy town bike assortment. Nice stuff for getting food from the weekly farmers market close by. Yes, those are Brooks saddles......maybe not the most comfortable at first but they won't wear out any time soon.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

A.K. will have a new sled for the SSWC in Napa this summer. It's a 7005 aluminum frame with Ahrens slider dropouts. Even with the sliders the frame is only 3.5 lbs. This is about as cutting edge as a single speed can get in my shop.

Big Dean's 29er will not be under-built. The rear triangle has two yokes machined from 7005 billet. These parts are also of Mike Ahrens design-the best aluminum hardware available for bike building. Mike also has his own line of bikes .

Monday, April 21, 2008

Sunday was not the typical ride as Max Fraser turned 18. Max is a sailboat racer on the world circuit but a bike rider when he isn't out on the water. We let him win all the sprints and climbs on the ride today, but he would have easily won them even if all of us tried 100% !

Thursday, April 17, 2008

If only the camera could really show the true shade of lavendar/blue on this road frame. This frame is distinctive because it can take 700x32c tires but is not a 'cross frame. It's technically a road frame that you can take in the dirt. It will use Shimano long-reach caliper brakes and a compact drivetrain, also Shimano. The cool thing is that aesthetically the frame is a road frame in almost every detail...the difference is in the subtle things done to accomodate the larger tires and make it stable in all conditions.

This is the spring batch of aluminum frames taking shape. I am now about 5 1/2 frames into a total of 14 frames bound for the heat treater in a couple of weeks. After this it will be back to steel for may/june. The selection of team bikes on sale has gotten smaller as the Ultegra bike is sold. The pit bike with full Dura Ace and Easton carbon fork is still available for $ 2,400. The seat tube is 50 cm c/t/c. the top tube is 54.5 cm c/t/c and the headtube is 130 mm. The bike has handbuilt wheels, 28 spoke Mavic Open Pro's in black. The bike is super clean and the same bike that the team races on. A new version of this bike would sell for $4,200 as equipped.

Monday, April 14, 2008

This frame finish is the handywork of Spectrum Powderworks. I guess you can tell by the excellent execution of the customer's requests. The 'Tagger-script' logo was designed by the customer and was to signify the rattle-can activities of his youth. No longer a tagger, he'll be scorching down the road on this rocket.

Notice the detail of a blue ring at the edge of the BB shell........nice touch from the painter. It's a shame that a crankset will be in front of some of this airbrush work.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Here's a barely used road bike that my sister owned but when she moved to Manhattan she decided that the bike would stay behind for good. The frame is easton 7005 and the components are a mixture of Campagnolo 8 speed Athena, Centaur with Chorus brakes. The bike has an FSA compact crankset and the wheels are handbuilt with Mavic Open pro rims. The fork is a Kestrel EMS pro that matches the color of the frame nicely. The compact frame is 45 cm seat tube, 54 cm top tube, ideal for a 5'6" rider. This can be yours for the low low price of $ 1,200. It's mint.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

These lovely sideways images are of the ultegra-equipped team bike for sale. The numbers of the frame are: Seat tube 50 c/t/c, top tube measured level 54.5, head tube 130 mm. The bike has a king headset, Paul's brakes and has been overhauled to race-prep perfection. The Dura Ace bike ( not pictured yet...$ 2,400) has these frame numbers: Seat tube 47.5, top tube measured level 54, head tube 110 mm. This bike has also been overhauled, both bikes getting new chains, cassettes, cables and tires. You can thrash these bike like a pro for a good long time as neither have had a ton of racing miles, the Ultegra bike only being ridden for a few laps at a few races as it was the 'pit bike'. I'll have more photos next week of the D/ace bike and Simon Vickers '06 team bike.